HACKENSACK — The City Council voted Thursday morning to appoint a new interim city manager to replace Anthony Rottino, who took sick leave starting last Friday citing a hostile work environment and filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the city and top officials days later.

The council did not fire him; officials said Rottino himself left the interim manager job when he stated in his lawsuit that he had been “constructively discharged” -- a legal term that refers to working conditions that are so intolerable that they effectively amount to a firing.

“Anthony Rottino has taken the legal position that he is not longer interim city manager effective June 23, 2014,” stated a resolution read by the city clerk, referring to the date of the lawsuit.

Rottino will continue to serve as director of economic development, a job he held in addition to the manager position and the job for which he was first hired in August. City attorney Thomas Scrivo said the city manager, and not the council, had authority over that position and could take no action.

Scrivo said he would speak with the new interim manager, Art Koster, “about the appropriate steps that should be taken” regarding the director of economic development job.

The council voted 3-0, with one abstention, to appoint Koster, who is the personnel director, as the interim city manager. Councilman Leo Battaglia said he abstained because his wife is employed by the city. Councilwoman Rose Greenman was absent from the meeting.

Rottino was sent a notice of the hearing about his employment, but did not attend.

In his lawsuit, Rottino accused the mayor, deputy mayor and police director of violating state law, condoning “mob-like and thuggish behavior” by the police union and conducting a smear campaign “to destroy his reputation” as they prepared to fire him.